


Time and Again

by Onceyourempire



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Ficlets, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-28
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-16 20:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5839039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onceyourempire/pseuds/Onceyourempire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>{A series of Ficlets fleshing out the Academia AU inspired by leupagus' fic 'to the sky without wings'}</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All of these fics take place outside of the timeline of the au, just so everyone knows! The full Au will be its own fic, so if you want the full picture it's best to follow both of these fics. 
> 
> Thanks to my betas, who did a dandy job even though they both said they would do a shitty job, and to leupagus, for creating something kind of magical. God bless us everyone, etc.

Poe is still young when his mother first reads The Prodigal Knight to him. He immediately gets swept away. He struggles to stay awake, to stay with her in the world of the mysterious protagonist and Carth in their hunt for the lost jedi Bastilla. He falls asleep easily, as he always does when she reads to him, but he begs for more of the book the next night -- and the next. Several weeks become dedicated to the Knights of the Old Republic series as the two of them burn through both of the trilogies.

Then, they begin the Jedi Academy series. After that comes the Rebels series, the X-wing series, dozens of books devoured in days. Poe begins to pick at them on his own time as best as he can. He carries The Progidal Knight everywhere he goes, till it's battered and held together with tape and his own small hands.

It is the beginning of a lifelong love of anything and everything written by Luke O. Skywalker.

When Poe is 8, Mama goes on a trip to visit an old friend. She won't say who it is, but her and Papa keep exchanging smiles as she packs. Poe is trying valiantly to read, but he keeps putting his book down to follow Mama around his parents bedroom. He hasn't been away from her for more than two days before. He's anxious, and he doesn't want to let her out of his sight, just in case she disappears. He finally settles down on the bed, where he can both read and watch her carefully.

"Poe, mijo --" he looks up, and she's smiling, "May I borrow your book?"

Poe chews his lip and clutches the pages of The Progidal Knight tighter. He's not sure how comfortable he feels being without both her and his book at the same time.

"I just need something to read on the plane," she promises, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Plus, if I have the book, it'll feel like you're right there with me. That sounds nice, huh?"

It does, and it makes him feel better about her trip. He hands the book to her, and she gives him a kiss.

She's gone for a week (the longest of his life thus far), and when she returns she has a sapling under one arm and the book under the other.

"He gave you a tree?" Papa laughs, and takes it from her hands. "He hasn't changed much, then."

"He took a cutting off of our original. He's been promising it to me for years, you know that." Papa makes a surprised sound, but Poe isn't looking at him. He runs to Mama, but skids to a hault as she kneels in front of him.

She hands Poe the book.

"Open it" she says, and Poe does so, confused but excited.

There, on the front page, is a new inscription.

To my dear friend Poe --

May the force be with you.

Yours,  
Luke O. Skywalker

 

His yelp startles both of his parents, and they laugh when he kisses the inscription and then leaps into Mama's arms, babbling his wild gratitude.

He carries the book in his bag for years, taping and retaping it with sturdier duct tape each time. The cover curls and the pages begin to warp from water damage, but he refuses to get a new copy. The inscription magically never seems to fade, as dark as it was the day he first read it.

It finally finds a home when he takes a job at his alma mater -- high on the shelf in a place of honor next to the x wing he built in 10th grade. It's the rattiest book on the wall of shelves, and he touches the spine every day when he enters and leaves the office -- for luck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind comments on the last chapter! I thrive under positive attention, so it motivated me to work even harder on this au. Yall are dolls.
> 
> Next chapter is not going to be as fun or sassy as this one. Sorry in advance.

Shara gasps.

"I know" is what Luke tries so say, but instead he just makes a choking sound.

Before them is a sight unlike any he's ever seen before. The temple they've been exploring has suddenly opened up into a massive chamber -- likely some kind of worship center, or perhaps a practice ground. The roof has fallen prey to the passage of time, and is almost completely crumbled away. It lets in plenty of sunlight, which is just grand, as the sun and rain have encouraged a plethora of flora to grow.

Including a massive tree.

It reaches high through the former ceiling and beyond his eyesight, and its above ground roots crawl across a large portion of the floor.

Luke barely notices Shara running forward.

"I've never seen anything like it!" She calls back to him, and very gently puts her hand on the bark, "I mean, I'm no botanist, but this seems like it could be something entirely new! At the very least, it's got to be uncommon. This is astounding." She pauses, and turns back to him. "Luke?"

"I think I'm crying" he replies.

"You're definitely crying." Shara says, and walks back to him. She carefully puts her hand on his arm and guides him towards the tree. "Touch it."

He does.

It's covered in grooves and chunky layers of bark, like most trees, but the bark itself isn't rough. It almost feels soft. He rubs his thumb along a crack and looks up. Deciduous leaves -- but it's the coldest season, and most of the leaves have fallen off the other trees. Did the temple somehow shield it enough that it didn't need to shed its leaves to stay alive through the winter? They're also a darker green than most leaves in this part of the world, but he isn't sure if that means anything or not. If he'd known this was here, he would have brought Wedge along. Wedge isn't a scientist by any means, but he's an avid outdoorsman and probably knows more than Luke. God, if he could see this, he'd -- 

Shara puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Not what you expected, huh?"

"Not really -- well." He pauses, and looks away from the tree to wipe his eyes. "The practioners of this religion were very in tune with nature. They had a lot of gardens in their temples. I was expecting something _like_ this but not --" he smiles at her, "-- not this exactly."

Shara chews her lip as she looks up at the tree. 

"I wish my son could see this. He'd be amazed." She says quietly, then sighs. "I doubt a camera could capture it."

Luke looks at the tree with her, the two of them standing in silence in the dappled shadow the tree casts.

"Let's take a picture anyway. And --" he hesistates.

"What?" Shara asks, when he doesn't continue.

"I could take a cutting. Maybe -- it seems hardy. Maybe it'll grow at home." 

Shara doesn't respond, and when Luke looks nervously over at her, shes smiling.

"What?"

"Professor Luke Amidala, tree thief."

"We're not stealing the _whole_ tree." Luke says defensively.

"Right."

"Not that we could take the whole thing anyway."

"Mhmm."

Luke sucks his teeth.

"Also, you're actually stealing the cutting, so --"

"What? No follow through?"

Luke gives her a hard sideeye.

"No second hand, Shara."

She has the grace to look embarassed.

"You did remember why I asked you come along, right?" Luke asks, but there's a teasing smile on his lips now. "It's not just because you're a good pilot."

"So what you're telling me," she interupts, a slow smirk spreading across her face, "is you're engaging me to steal a tree. That's even more devious, Professor."

"Shut up." Luke says, rolling his eyes.

They stand quietly again, taking in the room in its entirety. 

"This is going to be some article." Shara finally says.

"I don't know if I'm going to write an article." Luke says, quiet and unsure.

"You -- what? You're going to say we found nothing?"

"Maybe? I don't know!" Luke says, the pitch of his voice raising, "It doesn't seem right to, I don't know, maybe --" 

His left hand is clenching and unclenching and Shara suddenly remembers how young he is, even in comparison to her. He's already considered one of the greatest minds in his field. In some circles, they talk about him like he's one of the most brilliant people in their generation. His books sell by the millions.

He's barely out of his mid twenties.

Shara feels a rush of protectiveness for him, and walks around to stand in front of him.

"They would send in teams for digs." He says, not meeting her eyes. "Big ones. Teams of experts from all kinds of fields. Dozens of people." He looks down at the flowers around their feet. "They'd try their best to maintain it as it was but --"

"Yeah." She says.

"If I tell the university there was nothing here, they won't bother to spend the money on another exploration trip -- at least not for a while." He pauses, and takes a deep breath. Luke looks at her, finally. "There's other temples."

"Not like this." She says.

"Exactly." He replies, and the nervousness from before is gone. The determination is back, and he meets her eyes directly. 

Eventually, she looks away and smiles.

"You're the boss," she says. She reaches for the knife attached to her belt. "Time to steal a fuckin' tree."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! One of my betas needed me to beta something for them and I've been struggling to start the actual au so that's been sucking up a lot of time.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this! It hurt my heart to write, haha.

They decide not to bury her.

Some of the ashes are put in small vials -- Kes wears one around his neck. They make two in case Poe wants one when he gets older. Poe seems distraught over the idea now, but he's young. He might want it someday, someone tells Kes.

The rest go to Luke, as she'd requested. She said he'd know where to take them. Kes doesn't ask. He knows too.

Poe seems concerned, though. He keeps asking who this friend is, where is he going, can Poe go with him? Kes won't answer.

Luke enters the kitchen, and checks for Poe before he begins to speak.

"I know you said you've made up your mind, but she told me --" 

"Luke, no." 

"She told me she always wished he could see it! You could both come. For God's sake, Kes, this could mean --" 

"I'm not taking any risks!" Kes says, too loud for the small room, and Luke has nothing to say to that. Kes' eyes are red from recent crying, and Poe is probably asleep somewhere else in the house. Shara had once told him Kes didn't really have much extended family left.

"You're going to regret it." Luke says, quietly. "She would --"

"She's dead, and I'm the only one who can decide what's good for my family. It's --" Kes sniffs. "It's a long trip. To somewhere I've never been."

"I understand." Luke says, because he does. He understands the delicate act, trying to preserve memory while maintaining some sense of safety in your life. It has to be worse with a child. Leia and Han certainly seem more wary since having Ben.

"I won't ask you to not go." Kes says, looking out the window above the sink. The tree outside is still young, but Luke can tell it will grow to be towering. "I know what she wanted, and I want you to take her there."

"Okay." Luke pauses. "I'm sorry."

Kes sighs deeply through his nose, and turns to Luke with a tired smile.

"Me too. I wish we could go."

Luke bites the inside of his cheek, and turns away.

"Can I see him?" He asks, "Poe. Can I say hi before I go?"

"Yeah. He's in the living room. He's probably sleeping. He's exausted."

"Yeah." Luke replies, and leaves the kitchen.

Poe is curled around a book on the couch. He's definitely asleep, and Luke feels guilty about gently shaking him awake.

Poe wakes abruptly, jolting so hard it startles Luke into shifting back onto his knees. He watches as Poe sits up and stares at him, fingers clenched around the book. Luke reconizes it. He signed it, just over a year ago. He smiles, a little.

"I'm sorry, Poe. I was told you were asking about me?"

Poe squints at him, unsure, and doesn't respond.

"I'm taking your mama's ashes to --" Luke tries to find the word he wants, and it takes long enough that Poe makes a quiet inquisitive noise. Luke smiles at him again, fuller this time.

"I'm taking her to where she asked me to. I wanted to meet you before I left, so you know she's safe. I'll make sure she gets there okay."

"Can I come?" Poe asks, and Luke wants to say yes so badly. He wants to pick up this child, who looks just enough like Shara that it's both comforting and sad, as well as the book and haul ass as fast as possible before Kes notices. He snorts. He doesn't want to end his promising career because of a kidnapping charge, no matter how tempting.

"No, you can't." Luke starts, and Poe begins to protest. "You can't come today, Poe. But someday, I promise, I'll take you there." He puts his hand on Poe's forehead, and pushes his hair to the side to see his eyes better. 

"When?" Poe asks, and isn't it grand that children always want to know facts? How, why, when? The general is never enough, especially for a situation like this. He wants so badly to go now that the idea of waiting for an unknown day is terrifying. 

But Luke won't make a promise he can't keep, because he has no idea how old Poe would need to be before Kes will let him go. Maybe never, he thinks. 

"I don't know," Luke tells him, "but we will go. I know that much."

It's not what Poe wants to hear, but it helps.

"Okay." Poe says, and puts his book in Luke's hand. It has even more tape holding it together than the last time Luke saw it, and Luke's heart aches. Poe's going to need the security that book provides, more than ever before.

"Poe --" 

"I can't go." Poe says. "If you take it, it'll be like I'm there with you. That's what Mama said. That's why I always gave it to her when she went away."

Luke holds it carefully, and looks down at his own penname on the front cover. He looks up at Poe, who is almost smiling.

"I'll bring it home safe." Luke promises, and Poe nods solemnly. He slides off the couch and Luke watches as he pads his way to the kitchen. Luke stands, tucks the book under his right arm, and follows Poe into the kitchen.

"I'm going, Kes. Thank you for everything."

Kes looks up from where he's picked up Poe and sat him down on the kitchen counter. He smiles, a genuine smile with very little of the sadness Luke knows is there.

"Thank you, Luke. You're always welcome here."

Luke returns his smile, and waves at Poe, before turning and leaving the room. 

+++

Wedge flies him out the next day.

"You want to do this alone?" Wedge asks, standing nervously in the doorway of the temple. Luke turns in the hallway he's already entered to face him.

"She was your friend too, Wedge."

"I know, I just --" Wedge vaguely gestures, "This was never mine. It was yours and hers."

Luke laughs.

"We spent most of the trip talking about how you should have come with us. Now you have. Come on."

Wedge cries when they spread the ashes beneath the tree.

Luke cradles the book in his right arm, and looks up at the blue sky visible through the destroyed roof.

Him, her, Wedge, Poe. As it should be. As it should have been from the start.

Luke stands there long after Wedge has gone back to their camp, muttering about dinner and wiping his eyes.

He finally turns to leave when the sky grows dark, but he pauses at the doorway.

"We'll be back soon." He says, turning to speak to the tree. "I'll bring Poe here."

The wind gently blows the leaves of the tree, and Luke goes back to the camp.

He slips Poe's book into the mailbox of the Dameron's home and Luke only returns to that house in the form of letters or emails written to Kes.

The book smells vaguely of rain and grass for years afterwards.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to say hello or yell about this au with me over on tumblr! My url is boyvandals!


End file.
